Take Me Back to the Start
by twittle91
Summary: True Love is the most powerful of all, but will it help the Savior to choose between her own heart and the happiness of the woman she loves?


**Had this idea a while, but was unsure about how it would turn out. This first chapter is mostly setting the scene for the story to come. Hope you enjoy, please review :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any characters in this story.**

How long Emma stood there she could not say. Time seemed to stop as her now wet eyes stared unbelievingly at the motionless woman on the table before her. Usually deep, dark orbs were glazed and silky olive toned skin was pale and cold. A single tear ran down the Savior's cheek as she felt her heart break. Thousands of tiny glass shards exploded in her chest, the pain unbearable yet nothing showed on Emma's face. Every moment she had ever spent with the formidable mayor of Storybrooke came flooding back and played like a silent movie in her mind. The first time they ever met, the night Henry brought her home from Boston. Regina standing so close to her at the mine, the blonde honestly thought she was going to kiss her. The look of hurt on the brunette's face before she disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. Every smirk, every judging look and low blow came flooding back to feed the sucking black hole starting to form where Emma's beating heart once was. A heart she now realised had been beating for the woman lying before her, every bit as breath taking in death as she had been in life.

Another silent tear escaped transfixed eyes but still Emma Swan did not move. Her body was unresponsive, numb and alien to her. Memories swirled into new visions that had only ever been the subject of dreams, secret hopes and desires that she knew had no place in the real world. Especially not this one. Not after she had stopped believing in the one person who had needed her, needed Emma to be the Savior everyone told her she was. She saw Henry running around the garden at the mansion, giggling as he chased a golden puppy around Regina's apple tree. The brunette leaning back against Emma's front, reading a book and enjoying the sunshine as the Savior rubbed soothing circles on her lover's stomach, smiling each time their daughter kicked her hand. Suddenly the vision is gone and replaced by a whole new scene. Henry, now a man with broad shoulders and a good foot on either of his mothers, stands in a suit at the foot of the mansion's staircase, his little sister by his side. She grins at the camera Emma holds before pulling her tongue out to make her laugh. She has dark locks that curl perfectly around her face that is completely Regina except the sparkling green eyes that are filled with love and excitement. Regina walks into the scene looking older but still as stunning and commanding as ever to pin a rose to her son's lapel. The brunette turns and flashes Emma a flawless smile that makes her heart skip a beat every time.

Stood in the dingy room, Emma smiles slightly as her mind watches this perfect scene. It's almost as if she can reach out and feel warm skin, feel soft lips against her own. But she knows that if she were to extend a hand all she would find was Regina's lifeless body. She knows that she can't, she has Henry to think about, parents who have only just found her again and a town full of people who look to her for strength and protection, but Emma simply wants to lie next to Regina and lose herself in the bittersweet images she sees now. Deep down, she knows Regina is gone. The Regina who enflamed her desires as well as her temper, the Mayor who pushed her to the edge every day and the mother who had raised their amazing little boy. But the woman now sat holding her hand, watching as their grandchildren play in the garden, grey streaking dark hair and deeper lines as she smiles at the carefree games before her would be enough. If Emma could just close her eyes and lose herself in this wish then maybe, just maybe, she could have the happy ending she needed.

There is no pain any more, she feels nothing at all. Her chest is hollow and her mind shows her one last smile as Regina fades into black. The sound of dripping water fills her ears once more and the single flickering light casts a sickly glow on Regina's body. _This is no place for a Queen_, Emma thinks as her body moves forward of its own volitions. With a gentle reverence, the Savior takes care as she removes the wires from the brunette's body, fingers sliding over the raw burns marring perfect skin. Teary eyes flick from now shut eyes to pale lips. _What if… _The thought doesn't even finish before Emma leans down and brushes her lips against Regina's. There is no sonic boom, no magical surge. What had she expected? Regina had cursed an entire realm because she had lost her true love. Why would a kiss from a woman who had only reaffirmed Regina's beliefs that no one would ever let her change possibly bring her back from death.

_Love, true love, is the most powerful magic of all._

The voice was so familiar and comforting yet Emma could not recall Regina ever uttering those words in her presence. It echoed in her mind as she slid her arms under the brunette's shoulders and knees to effortlessly lift her from the hard bed beneath. Emma had never noticed how small Regina actually was until she looked at her cradled protectively in her arms. Without the regal poise and impenetrable walls, Regina Mills was just a beautiful and misunderstood woman. The Savior had seen the ghost of the feared Evil Queen but she would always and forever simply Regina to her. Mother, mayor and enigma.

The blonde slowly made her way out of the room, barely registering the two lifeless bodies surrounded by dark crimson pools. The sun blinded her momentarily as she stepped out of the dilapidated building and Emma took a few seconds to adjust before she began to walk back towards town. She would take Regina home. That was the least she could do. She had been too late this time. Her own blind pride to blame and now she had to face her son to tell him his other mother was gone. She had to live the rest of her life with regret and loneliness. Still, her feet took her through the picturesque streets towards the town square on autopilot. People stared and whispered as Emma walked by, unaffected and uninterested, the brunette safely in her hold as she rounded the corner into the view of Granny's Diner.

_Not far now, Regina. _

Her feet didn't stop until her way was physically blocked by her father, his brow furrowed and his eyes filled with concern and confusion. Stood in the middle of the street, a crowd formed around the Savior and Evil Queen.

'Mom…' the small voice ripped through the thick silence as Henry stepped slowly forward.

Each heart broke as Emma looked to her stunned son with rapidly blinking eyes. She was finally coming out of the daze that had gripped her ever since she discovered the lifeless brunette and pain rushed through her system once again.

'Mom.' The boy's voice trembled as he lay a hand on his brunette mother's cold arm, tears streaming from his face as his mind failed to understand how this could happen. No matter who Regina had been or what she had done, she was his mom. She had been the one to tuck him in at night and hold him through all the bad dreams. The sunshine in his life even when the sky was stormy and grey. The lump forming in his throat threatened to choke him completely as he remembered all the arguments and cruel words he had thrown at her this last year.

Emma's knees began to buckle under the grief now slamming into her chest. Her son was looking at her, his hazel eyes searching for something, anything, in her own. Regina felt like lead in her arms and David only just managed to slide his own arms under the body of his former arch enemy before his daughter collapsed on the hard road. Deep and ragged breaths came hard and everything spun for a few seconds before the blonde felt a small body slam into her own. Henry buried his face against her neck, his tears hot and wet against her prickling skin, and they held each other tightly as sobs wracked their frames.

David lowered Regina's body down onto the ground, her head resting on his knees. Snow fell next to him and she looked at the brunette's still form. Her skin was too pale now and her face was the most serene she had ever seen it. All memories of the Evil Queen who had threatened her life and happiness melted away and the young, carefree Regina played through her mind. Those precious days after she had saved her from that runaway horse. Easy smiles and light laughter as they had played together or sat talking for hours brought a small, heartbroken smile to her lips. Regina had taught her the meaning of true love. She had been everything Snow had wanted to be when she grew up and she had loved and adored the brunette with all her heart. Fate had twisted what should have been a beautiful relationship into bitter hatred and misplaced anger, two young girls lives nothing more than chess pieces in a sick game of ego and power. Snow could not contain her tears as she heard the anguished cries of her daughter and grandson as they grieved for Regina. She lowered her head and placed a gentle and tender kiss on the older woman's forehead.

'I love you, Regina.'

The whispered words hung between them as Snow pulled back, shutting her eyes tightly and taking a deep breath. A strong arm wrapped around her shaking shoulders and she leaned into her husband's side as he held Regina's body against them. No matter what had transpired between them, Regina would always be family. She had been Henry's mother and that was enough.

The citizens of Storybrooke watched in silence as the Savior, her son and their sovereigns mourned the brunette's death. Watching such devastation and heartbreak was moving enough to allow respect for moment of great sadness, despite their own feelings towards the Evil Queen. Somehow it seemed the town itself had felt her loss and it was certain that Storybrooke would never quite be the same again.

Xxx

The day was cold and grey. A hazy drizzle clung close around the lone figure knelt on the wet ground. Droplets of rain mixed with salty tears that fell from bloodshot eyes. Blonde curls hung limply around trembling shoulders as icy hands clutched at a single red rose. The Mills family vault pressed against Emma's peripheral vision, but her eyes were transfixed on the marble headstone now marking the final resting place of the woman she had never had chance to truly know. She had wanted to preserve Regina's body in the enchanted glass case that once held her beloved Daniel, to keep her perfect for all eternity as she would always be in Emma's grieving mind, but she had been overruled. Her parents, even Henry, knew that her desire to keep Regina preserved was a desperate attempt to give the blonde time to find a way to bring the brunette back from death.

In the end it had been their son who convinced the Savior that Regina deserved to at peace now. He had held back his tears long enough to explain that his mother should be buried outside of the vault, away from her mother, away from the hearts and dark relics from her days as Evil Queen, because she was no longer that woman. He told her of the time Regina had lay with him under stars in their yard and told him stories of the constellations_. Lying under the stars, in the quiet of night, is the most freeing feeling you can ever experience, Henry._ The memory of his mother's arms tightly around his body, the way she took his hand and traced the stars with their fingers, her soft hum as he fell asleep in her embrace, it was enough to convince Henry that Regina needed to see the stars now and to be free. She had spent too much time confined within thick stone walls, unable to escape the loneliness they imprisoned her with.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. All Emma had wanted was to make sure Henry was safe, loved by the woman who had been able to give him everything she could not. How had it all gone so crazy and wrong? One day she had just been Emma Swan, the kid nobody wanted, then suddenly she was this savior destined to defeat the Evil Queen and save the forces of good from darkness. Instead she had fallen for the Evil Queen and failed to save her when she had needed someone to believe in her. Now she was alone again. Yes, she had her parents and countless friends who loved and supported her but none of them saw her. Not truly.

_Regina saw me. _

'You know who I really am, don't you.' Her lips felt numb, a combination of the bitter chill that now gripped the once vibrant town and the sheer lack of feeling within the blonde's soul. Emma barely recognised her own voice as it mixed with the swirling wind, her eyes locked on the name marking the grave. Regina Mills. Too many nights had passed since she saw perfect red lips curl into a cruel yet beautiful smirk or heard the cutting remarks of this formidable woman. Nights that now found the Savior finding comfort in a bottle of whiskey as she poured over magic books and scrolls filled with lore and enchantments. The stone subterranean rooms beneath the sarcophagus of her son's namesake had become a safe haven for Emma since she found Regina at the cannery.

Everywhere she went in town reminded her of Regina. Sat in her office, Emma strained to hear the rhythmic clicking of expensive heels on tiled floor. The diner reminded her of the party Regina had come to by the blonde's own invitation, despite knowing her presence would be less than welcome. Walking away from town to avoid pitiful glances and insincere condolences always led her to the mine where Regina had allowed her, all too briefly, to be a source of comfort and strength. It was all too much. This was Regina's town and there was nowhere that her essence didn't linger. Of course, the white mansion dominating Mifflin Street had been the most suffocating location Emma had visited in the wake of Regina's passing. Every room held a part of her. It still smelled of apples, vanilla and something the blonde could only describe as uniquely and truly Regina. Wandering the empty space, Emma had been expecting to hear 'Miss Swan, what the hell do you think you are doing?' from behind her. She desperately longed to turn the corner and see Regina stood with her arms folded across her chest, lips pursed, waiting for an explanation as to why the Savior was tramping through her home.

_Because not having someone, that's the worst curse imaginable._

Every beat of Emma's heart wished to have Regina back. Even if it meant constant insults, belittling and fighting. Even if the beautiful Mayor chose to never acknowledge Emma's existence ever again, it was something she was willing to accept to simply know she was here, she was safe. It was this want, this need that drove Emma through a month of sleepless nights, to search almost obsessively through any text she could find that could bring her closer to getting Regina back.

It seemed magic, however, could do anything except bring back the dead. Regina had book after book outlining necromancy, reanimation and even soul transference. But notations written in her perfect hand filled every empty space, outlining how and why these spells do not work. Emma had read until her eyes could no longer focus on the words before her and with each discarded text came closer to the same realisation that drove the brunette to Whale and his morbid science experiments. He, of course, had outright refused to even begin discussing his work with her, practically throwing Emma out of his office at the hospital, yelling about how no one should ever fight death when it comes to claim its victim.

The Savior was now scared and lost, so she came to the one person who had ever made her feel strong. Regina had pushed her, challenged her at every turn and it was Regina who made Emma want to fight again. Want to be the person she had always meant to be. A stronger woman than the terrified 18 year old who had wanted better for the perfect little boy swaddled in a blue baby blanket.

'I'm glad he came to you.' Emma would always be grateful to Regina for raising Henry. _If only we could have done it together. _She closed her eyes tightly, tears slipping from her already wet lashes, as she took a ragged breath and willed the visions of the perfect family from her cruel and taunting mind. Any chance she had with Regina disappeared the moment she chose to ignore her gut and turn against her over Archie's apparent death. If she had only had a little faith, then perhaps she could have stopped Cora from twisting Regina's already fragile and broken mind. She could have protected her from that bastard Greg and his sick plans of torture and magic extraction. She could have loved her and fixed the shattered heart that beat in Regina's chest.

The strangled cry reverberated throughout the silent graveyard and would have been truly blood chilling to any living soul present to witness it. As it was, Emma was alone save those resting beneath the waterlogged ground. When she had once again regained some composure, the blonde had fallen forward onto her hands, the rose pushing into the grass as she held it within white knuckles. She lifted her head to study the stone in front of her and the only thought she could form was why. Why had she lost her? Why had she been chosen as the Savior when she could not even save herself? Why couldn't she just go back to the start and try to fix what she herself had broken?

_Back to the start._

The solution hit Emma square in the chest and her mind began to race. That was the answer. Of course it was. If she couldn't bring Regina back then she would have to just go back and stop this from happening at all. Surely if magic could take you to other worlds, it could move you through time as well. Green eyes once again focused on the headstone, filled with a new confidence and determination. Magic was all about emotion and knowing who you were fighting for. Everyone told her she was a product of true love, that she was this great magical force of good, meaning something like a little time travel should be as simple as pulling a rabbit from a hat. Her love for Regina would guide her and her desire to be a real family with her son and his other mother was motivation enough to know that this idea could not and would not fail. A small smile played on her pink lips as hope began to warm her frozen heart.

_I _will _fix this. I'll save you Regina, I promise._


End file.
